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Pz.Kpw VI Ausf. H "Tiger"
"k" General Background The main need for a heavy tank in frontline service came from Operation Barbarossa, when early Panzer IIIs and IVs went up against more heavily armed and armored T-34s and KV-1s, especially the KV-1 in particular. At the time of the invasion, there was no gun in the Heer inventory that could reliably penetrate the sloped 45mm front armor of the T-34, nor the 75-90mm flat/semi-sloped front armor of the KV-1, except for the 8.8cm FlaK guns configured in a ground support role. The initial remedy for this was uparming the Panzer IIIs with the new 5 cm KwK 39 L/60 cannon. This could penetrate the front armor of the T-34 at close ranges, but could not reliably deal with either the T-34 or the KV-1 at standard combat ranges. Despite the rearming of the Panzer IV to an L/43 cannon (possibly fearing further development in soviet armor, resulting in needing continuous rearming of vehicles), the Heer wasn't satisfied. The Panzer IVs armor of 50mm could be easily penetrated by even small 45mm anti-tank guns, which were fielded in large numbers at the time of the invasion. So Porsche and Henschel put out prototype designs to be adopted for service, using the same Krupp turret. The Porsche variant used a gasoline-electric hybrid power unit, which required large quantities of copper (a strategic wartime material). This system, along with the provided Porsche Type 101/1 proved to be extremely unreliable and prone to breaking down, and required frequent crew maintenance to have it not break down in the field, leading to the Henschel design being chosen for service. Armor thickness ranged from around 100-120mm on the front. 100-102mm on the front glacis, 120mm on the mantlet. Hull sides were 60-80mm, 80mm on the turret around the sides and rear. The main gun was an 8.8cm KwK 36 L/56, derived from the 8.8cm FlaK 36, and was electrically fired. It was also complemented with 2 Maschinengewehr 34s mounted in the hull and coaxially to the right of the main armament. Standard shell was the Panzergranate 39, with up to 132mm of penetration at 100m and a muzzle velocity of 773 m/s. Additionally an APCR round (Panzergranate 40) with a muzzle velocity of 930 m/s was developed, although with the power of the Pz.Gr 39 the addition of APCR was unnecessary, especially since the APCR rounds used tungsten, a scarce wartime material. All of the shells used by the KwK 36 are identical to the ones used by the FlaK 36, albeit modified to be electrically primed. The Tiger was deployed mainly on the Eastern Front in 1943, and combat reports were mixed. The increase in firepower and protection were welcome, however even with the engine and drive being more reliable than the Porsche counterpart, the engine still required frequent maintenance and was prone to breaking down after 100 km, and the transmission in particular suffered similar issues, the drive was still prone to breaking down, and with the harsh autumn rasputitsa season, mud could be jammed in between the interleaved road wheels and freeze overnight, permanently jamming the wheels in place. Many Tigers were abandoned once the transmission broke down or when it ran out of fuel. Of all the Tigers deployed in combat, a little over half were lost or abandoned due to mechanical breakdown, rather due to enemy fire. Only ~1,300 Tiger Is were made, and production was dropped in favor of the more heavily armed and armored Tiger II. Specifications *Type: Heavy tank *Place of origin: Germany *In service: 1943 *Produced: 1942 *Number built: ~1,300 *Weight: 56 tonnes *Length: 6.316 - 8.45 m *Width: 3.56 m *Height: 3.0 m *Crew: 5 *Armor: **Upper glacis: 100-102mm **Lower glacis: 100mm **Hull side: 60-80mm **Hull rear: 80mm **Turret front: 120mm **Turret sides: 80mm **Turret rear: 80mm **Additional track links could be put of the tanks to provide extra (but limited) protection *Armament **Main gun: 8.8 cm KwK 36 L/56 (92 rounds) **Secondary armament: x2 7.92mm MG 34 (4500 rounds) *Engine: Maybach HL 230 P-45 (690 HP) *Suspension: torsion-bar suspension *Speed: 37 mph Ammunition Tiger Is had a maximum ammunition load of 92 rounds for the main gun. The general ammunition types that were used were: * Panzergranate 39 (Pz.Gr 39), Armor-piercing capped, ballistic capped (APCBC) with explosive-filler and tracer. ** Armor penetration values: 132 | 110 | 99 | at 90 degrees angle. ** At combat ranges of: 100 | 500 | 1000 * Panzergranate 40 (Pz.Gr 40) Armor-piercing, composite rigid (APCR) with sub-calibre tungsten core. ** Armor penetration values: 171 | 156 | 138 | at 90 degrees angle. ** At combat ranges of: 100 | 500 | 1000 * Hohlgeschoss 39 (Hl.Gr 39) High-explosive, anti-tank (HEAT) with a shaped charge. ** Armor penetration values: 90 | 90 | 90 | at 90 degrees angle. ** At combat ranges: 100 | 500 | 1000 * Sprenggranate 39 (Sprgr. 39) High-explosive (HE) ** Armor penetration values: 13 | 13 | 13 | regardless of range or angle. ** At combat ranges: 100 | 500 | 1000 Gallery Tiger I.png